Devotion
by Always NaruIno
Summary: I watched as Naruto fell in love with Sakura. And then, after her, Hinata. And through all that time I just kept thinking to myself; When will it be my turn? -NaruIno with second pairing NaruHina and hints of NaruSaku and SasuSaku-
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** _I don't own Naruto, obviously. But I wish I did just so I can make NaruIno canon.  
And the image is created by musesilver/taamiv(old name I think) from DiviantArt. Make sure to check them out!_

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Back when we were 14 I thought Naruto was an idiot. He always came into the flower shop, purchasing some stupid flower to give away to Sakura and confess his undying love for her, only to come return the damn thing because he would be rejected every time. It was a nuisance placing the flower back in its rightful place.

I didn't understand why he kept trying. Sakura was so obviously in love with Sasuke. I thought I was too. To me it didn't make sense why he still had hope. I secretly wished he would give up already so I wouldn't be bothered anymore. But no, Naruto is not a quitter. And I learned that the hard way.

Naruto was always so immature. He was an idiot who always played pranks on everyone. He always talked big but always ended up embarrassing himself. He was tiny too, I was taller than him at the time. I was also more intelligent and an even better ninja. A lot has changed since then.

Naruto's big dream was to become hokage. To show everyone who looked down on him how great he is and that he's capable of such a highly honoured title. At that time I always brushed it off, because who cares? It's Naruto! There's no way a kid like him could do it.

But that's the way things were. Naruto, the idiot prankster who confessed his undying love to Sakura almost every single day. Sakura, completely focused on Sasuke and Sasuke alone to realize anyone else. Sasuke, the boy who didn't care at all about any of us. And Hinata. The girl who loved Naruto.

She was always supportive of him. She was really the only person there for him back then. It's too bad he never realized her back then. Back then, when things were different. So much could have changed had he liked Hinata first. It's just too messed up to really explain.

So I'll tell you this; nearly everyday, that idiot boy comes into our flower shop, searches through all the flowers, ends up picking a red rose every time, and returning it within an hour. Some days I would just pull out a rose and wait for him to come by just so I wouldn't have to be bothered with watching him look through all the selections.

But he _still_ looked around, much to my annoyance. Sometimes I'd yell at him about it, but daddy would always scold me for yelling at a costumer. So usually I yelled at him during school. He always just grinned this goofy little grin and apologized. For some reason I would let it go after he grinned like that.

Then Sasuke left. I was so completely devastated. But not nearly as much as Sakura or Naruto. Those two lashed out at everyone. All they did was blame themselves. They were so angry and lost at first that they both just stopped showing their faces for a while. Then they only spoke to one another.

It wasn't fair though. I was heartbroken too. I wanted to hide away too. I wanted to have someone I could talk to about everything too. But I didn't have one. I showed my face and bared the pain. Because I soon realized I wasn't as pained as I thought. That I hadn't lost someone who mean't a lot to me the way Naruto and Sakura did.

That's when I realized I had it all wrong. I had always been so selfish and naive. Had I realized back then that my true feelings were not for Sasuke, things could have been different.

For some reason I really can not explain, I wanted to go meet with Naruto. I wanted to talk to him, help him. But so many other people were already there. Jiraiya had offered Naruto a chance to travel with him and become stronger. I learned of this information from Shikamaru instead of the source himself.

Why? Because I was too damn chicken shit to talk to him. All those years spent picking on the kid, I couldn't bring myself to approach him. My pride hung on the line. And since I was stupid enough to be so hot headed, I let him go. It's not like it was any of my business anyway.

I never said goodbye. Then again I don't recall ever quite saying a proper hello either.

He left. I won't admit it to anyone, ever, but I missed that idiot. His stupid pranks that got everyone by for the day, his stupid voice shouting across the room, and his stupid face looking at all the flowers. The roses...

That's how I knew Sakura would never be a good match for Naruto. All she ever did was think of Sasuke. That's all she lived for. Sometimes she would voice her concerns for her blonde team mate but it wasn't the same as the numerous times she's voiced her concerns for Sasuke. I think everyone just knew that Naruto would never get the girl.

Hinata on the other hand was a wreck. She was so strong though. She held a good front but whenever I talked to her, she would break. She knew she could trust me. Honestly seeing her like that made me want to break too. I never spoke of Naruto, but I think Hinata knew I was worried just like everyone else.

To be honest anytime the bell from the store would ring I would spring up, hoping to see Naruto. But every single time it would just be someone else. And I tried to look joyful but I have to admit I was a bit disappointed. Not that it matters anyway. No one will ever know.

I went on dates, I hung out with friends, I went on missions, I worked at the shop, and yet every single damn day there had to be at least one thought of Naruto. Has he eaten? Is he tired? What type of training is he doing now? Is Jiraiya taking him to a club? Has he grown? Has he changed? Is he taller now? What does his voice sound like? And countless other things.

And it was the most frustrating thing too! Because I couldn't understand why the hell I felt that way! I honestly felt like ripping my hair out anytime I thought of him! Because why should I care! He likes Sakura! And he already has another girl worrying too much over him! And I mean nothing to him and he means nothing to me!

That's what the hot headed, stubborn me always argued. It doesn't make sense, because I knew Naruto wouldn't think of me once at all during his training. After all, all I had ever done to him was scold. I was never his friend. Even though I should have been.

Now there he is.

He's talking to a dazed Sakura. I can't blame her. Is this really happening? Is he finally back? That's what I'm thinking too. And Naruto, he stares at Sakura the same way as ever. Full of love. As if he never left. They start walking my way. I look down at my new attire. It's still purple but I changed it up a bit. Will he notice?

Because I definitely notice him and his new outfit. He's taller, too. He's grown up so much. He looks handsome. Although I'll never admit that to anyone. Ever.

As they approach me, I clear my throat and smile wide. I'm about to greet them when I realize they don't see me. They pass right by. I was two inches away from Naruto. And he didn't notice it was me. He didn't even seem to know anyone was alive. I stand there, still frozen in the time that he brushed against my shoulder.

I'm waiting for him to turn around and recognize me, acknowledge me, _do something_, but he doesn't. Instead I hear him calling out to Hinata. And Kiba and Shino.

My knees grow weak. After these two years of constant worry, he doesn't even know. I run, my back still turned towards the group of laughing friends who catch up with one another. I can feel hot tears sting my eyes. But why? He never mean't anything to me and I sure as hell never mean't anything to him back.

And yet... It hurts. It hurts to know I wasn't important enough to recognize.

And all of that devotion is left unknown.

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**A/N:**_ So I guess this can be read as a one-shot but I'm not planning for it to be. What do you guys think? Should I continue?_


	2. Idiot

I waited. I sat at the counter of the store and waited. Day after day, Naruto didn't come. He knew where to find me, so why wasn't he coming to say hello? Am I really the last person he cares about? Does he even care about me at all? He's even said hello to Choji and Shikamaru. It's really starting to piss me off.

I hear the jingles of the door. I snap my head up, but I'm only greeted with the sight of Choji. I sigh and give my team mate a wave of the hand. "Hey Choji. What's up?"

"Well, Naruto is back!" Choji announces, a wide smile stretching across his face. As if I didn't know. I must not look surprised enough. Choji stops smiling and frowns. "Hey... Are you not happy Naruto is back? I know you two didn't get along but that's a bit harsh Ino."

I roll my eyes and flip my bangs. "Of course I'm glad. But that idiot hasn't come to greet me yet!"

Choji blinks. After a slight moment of silence, he rubs his tummy. "Well Shikamaru and I are going to dinner with him tonight. It's gonna be teams 7, 8 and 10, we're all gonna catch up with Naruto. I came to invite you, if you wanna come."

I feel my face grow red from anger. "Well if I was wanted at this party, I would have been officially invited. Not given an invitation because I look pathetic and have nothing else to do. I bet he doesn't even want me to be there! I would ruin your whole reunion!"

The air leaves me and even though I have more to bitch about, I can't. Choji blinks at me innocently. "But I said it was teams 7, 8 and 10. You're part of team 10. You know... He did mention you. He asked us where you were, but even if he wanted to come say hi, he was too busy with Tsunade, Kakashi and Sakura."

Well, at least he mentioned me. I get persuaded too easily. I look over at the clock. Six in the afternoon. "Okay I'll come. But I might be a bit late. My shift runs for another hour. Where and when should I come?"

"Come to Hikari's at 9." Choji says. He backs out of the store and waves from outside. I return the wave. When Choji is gone, I feel my cool escape me. Nine? I still have an hour shift! Only two hours to get ready? But I haven't even gone through my closet yet! And I have to shower. Should I keep my hair up, or let it down?

Not that Naruto would even notice. Ah! Okay, maybe if I just start planning out the outfit right now, I won't be late. So maybe I should wear a dress? Or is that too formal? Yeah, I should just go casual. Ninja gear is okay. Hair... I'll get back to that.

As I help costumers out in the best way I can, I keep thinking of what I'll dress in. Make-up has to be re-done. I should shave. Even though I'm quite hairless anyway, this is extra important. Accessories? Hmm... No, too fancy. Should I take a purse? No, probably not. It's not an occasion that I'll need one.

"Ino, what are you doing?" I look up to see father raising his eyebrows at me. I look down and see that instead of trimming the thorns off the roses, I've been cutting the whole stem off. I cringe and prepare for a scolding. "What's so important on your mind that you're doing this?"

"Uhm... Well Shikamaru, Choji and I are going out with some friends later tonight. I don't really know what to wear..."

Father laughs. "Of course you don't, you're Ino Yamanaka. So your friends, is one of them Naruto Uzumaki? I heard he's in town again."

"Yeah." I can feel my mood damper. That idiot is back in town and he still hasn't come to visit and say hi. That fact just irks me more and more. I shake my head, dismissing these thoughts and look up at the clock. 6:30. I look back at my expectant father. "Uhm, daddy, do you think, maybe I could..."

"I've heard this one before too many times to count." Father runs a hand through his hair. "But fine, seeing as you're meeting up with the Uzumaki kid and you haven't seen him for two years. I didn't know you two were close though."

I roll my eyes. "We're not dad. But thanks for letting me off my shift! Love you!"

Before my father can go on about Naruto or anything else, I dash out the door. Who cares about the apron still around me, I need to get home and jump in the shower. I completely ignore the people in my way and continue to hurry home. But wait, why am I in such a rush?

My house comes into view. Oh, screw it. I can't deny that I'm excited to see Naruto again. It's been two years, that's a good enough reason to miss the idiot. My stress level goes down now, and I feel a lot more calm. It didn't take me much time at all to get home, but it's still nerve-racking. I've waited too long for this day.

It feels good to run under the shower. And shaving was easy. But of course, it actually took me an hour to take my shower. I always lose track of time. I look into my reflection and take deep breaths. My long hair that I let grow out is cascading down my back and I like it. Maybe I should keep it down.

Dressing is easy, make-up was... significantly easy, but my hair is not drying fast enough. Ugh, but I don't have time to wait for it to dry. I run a brush through it and check the time. I cringe to see 8:50 on the clock. You've got to be kidding me. I run out the door.

If I'm late, I'm gonna kill someone. But Hiraki's isn't too far away, if I sprint I can get there in ten minutes. But sprinting will make me look gross, and a jog is good enough in my books. The wind is actually drying my hair for me. I near the restaurant and slow down to a slow walk, catching my breath. Okay, I made it!

I walk in through the doors and head to the table that I see Choji at. I feel a little light headed from the running and the heat from this small restaurant. But he's there. Naruto is there. And he's sitting at the very end, Choji next to him. I grin wide. "Hey guys! I'm-"

I'm cut off when I feel myself wobble and almost crash onto the ground. My legs must have given out. I almost land on Sakura, who is sitting directly across from Naruto. But she stops me by gripping onto my shoulders, and Naruto stands to help out. I feel my throat clog when he takes a hold of my arm and helps me up right.

"You okay, Ino?" Naruto questions.

Damn. His voice. It's lower. Much more manly. And dare I say sexy. Not to mention he said my name. So he does remember me. I stand up straight and pull my arm away from his hands. "Ah, yeah. What's up, Naruto? You didn't come see me yet."

Naruto frowns guiltily. Damn. He's taller. Taller than me. His face lost baby fat. His hands are rough, obvious signs of good training. "Sorry Ino. I was really busy. I was planning on visiting your shop soon though. I wanted to take a look at your roses, see if they're still in good shape."

I nearly laugh. The image of the stemless roses cross my mind. "Yeah, they're in good condition alright..."

Damn. Just everything is so... Damn. If that makes sense.

"Ino, do you want to sit next to me?" Hinata asks. Notice that her stutter is gone. She's seated next to Sakura and Kiba but there's a space between her and Kiba who sits on her other side. I look at Naruto and then back at Hinata. I nod and make my way into the seat.

"So, Naruto! Tell us about your training!" Kiba exclaims, quite loudly.

Naruto takes his seat back. His eyes glance at Sakura and he grins. "Well, I learned a lot of combat skills. I worked on endurance, stamina, chakra maintenance and regular stuff but it was constant training. I learned some new ninjutsu."

Naruto continues to speak about it. But I noticed that Sakura's attention isn't 100%. Hinata's attention is, though. I know I've been waiting two years to know about Naruto's training, but that doesn't mean I'm up to listening to this. So instead, why not make the night more fun?

"How about we order some drinks? You know, for celebration of Naruto's return!" I announce. I look around at the sceptical faces around me and roll my eyes. "Oh come on! You can die any day from a mission and you won't risk a little bottle of sake?"

"You know what? Ino has a point!" Naruto announces. I look at the whisker-faced boy. He's smiling at me. "I wanna celebrate to the full extent! We need to make this more fun!"

Sakura shuts down the thought adamantly. "No way. I don't want any of you acting any worse than you already do. Not to mention how harmful it can be."

"Wow, no fun." Kiba whines. "I say we do it."

"Why the hell not?" I question, causing the rest of the people at the table to agree. I turn to stick my tongue out at the medical ninja. Sakura shakes her head in disapproval. I stick my hand up for the waiter to see. "Excuse me! A couple of bottles of sake over here!"

A waiter comes over holding two different kinds. 15% alcohol or 20%. I look over at Naruto, who looks over at me and shrugs. "Jiraiya-sama always gets super pissed when he drinks 20%. Maybe we should go with 15%?"

"But I wanna get pissed too. We'll have the 20% please." I say to the waiter. Naruto smiles nervously, knowing what the outcome may be. I feel a little guilty going against his choice. "I hope you don't mind too much."

"Can you two end your date and come back to the group reunion?" Shikamaru questions.

I feel my head pound. I flip my hair hotly at my team mate. "Can you actually join the conversation instead of dozing off maybe?"

Shikamaru scoffs and rests his face on his hand that's on the table. Choji laughs nervously. "What's with this mood? I don't like it..."

"The drinks can help that." Kiba says as the waiter returns with five bottles of sake. He takes one and pops it open. He pours the alcohol into his glass and hands it over to me. I take it with a smile and fill my own cup. I hand the bottle to Hinata when I'm finished.

Hinata only pours a slight amount into her cup. She holds out the bottle to Sakura, but the pinkette turns the other cheek. Hinata looks at Naruto. "Naruto-kun, would you like me to pour you a glass?"

"Yeah, sure!" Naruto exclaims, holding out his glass. I watch Hinata stand and bend over to pour him his glass. Hinata's a modest woman but she's definitely filled out over the years. Then again, so have I. And so has Sakura. Naruto pulls his cup back and gives Hinata a friendly smile. He's still completely oblivious. "Thanks Hinata."

A couple drinks later and my mind is completely fuzzy. My words are slurred and I keep fidgeting. But then again, so does Naruto, Choji, and Kiba. Shikamaru, Shino and Hinata look to be a bit buzzed but not to a great extent. Sakura on the other hand is completely sober, and totally a party pooper at the end.

"Okay, I think that's enough." Sakura says. She stands up. "It's 11 and I have a shift in thirty minutes. I'll see you guys around."

"Sakura-chan, don't leave just yet!" Naruto whines with a pout. His words are a bit slurred, making it quite obvious he was quite drunk. He tries to stand up, but has some troubles. "I can walk you if you want me to."

Sakura sighs. "No Naruto. You stay here and enjoy the rest of your night."

Naruto tries to reach out for Sakura but she's already turned around and heading out. I thought maybe Naruto would sit back down but he continues to go after her. I hear him calling out her name in a slurred voice. I look over at Hinata, who has a frown on her face, probably a mirror towards mine.

I stand from my seat as well, although it's probably not as graceful as I thought it would be. The man of the hour was gone, so there isn't a real point to sticking around anyway. "Kiba can pay this time, right Kiba? Anyway, see you guys later."

I wobble my way out of the restaurant. My hair swings back and forth, and I kind of wish I kept it up. It's irritating me. I can hear Kiba complaining and trying to get someone else to pay, but as soon as I leave the restaurant I don't hear any more of his voice.

I turn towards the direction of my house, but stop short when I see Naruto sitting with his back against the wall of the restaurant. His eyelids are shut, but he keeps muttering things.

"Naruto?" I call out, wobbling over to him. I wave a hand in front of his face and try nudging his shoulder but he's completely unconscious. But I can't just leave him here, so I shake him. He still doesn't budge. I decide to lightly slap him. "Naruto! Wake up!"

Naruto only grumbles a little bit and turns his head into a new position. "S-Sakura-chan..."

I roll my eyes. You've got to be kidding me. I look around but it's hard to see when the world is so disoriented. I guess I'll have to take Naruto home. My fists clench hard. Why do I have to do so much for him? Will he recognize it? No.

But he's sitting there so helplessly. With a sigh, I yank Naruto up, which is quite difficult since he's much heavier than I am and I'm just as drunk as Naruto. I place his arm around my shoulders and wrap an arm around his waist for support. I remember back when we were younger that he had a place to himself nearly outside of town.

As I make my way to the opposite direction of where my house is, I curse. Shouldn't the man be the one to do something like this? In any case, it only ticks me off more and more when Naruto calls out every now and then Sakura's name. I scoff and mutter, "Funny how the first time you wrap an arm around my shoulders, you're calling out another woman's name."

Naruto's head jerks towards me. His eyelids flutter open. In a slurred voice, he mumbles, "I-Ino?"

Great. I just woke him up. I feel my head pounding and it hurts really bad. I'm getting impatient. "Naruto, where the hell is your house?"

"Two blocks? I think..." Naruto mutters, his eyelids shutting once more.

Two more blocks my ass. It was five more. And don't ask why that little difference ticks me off. It just does. And as I walk up his apartment stairs heaving both his drunken body and my own, I really don't see a point anymore. I nearly slap myself from the stupid idea of doing this when I could have left him for Shikamaru or any other of the guys.

I open the door of his apartment, and it's actually surprisingly clean. Partially due to the fact he probably hasn't spent much time in it ever since he came back. And he's been gone for two years. But it's still impressive in my books.

I can taste freedom as I approach Naruto's room. Once inside, I nearly chuck Naruto into the bed. I turn to leave but stop. Am I really just gonna leave him like that? That's the voice of all the good people in the world who wouldn't leave their friend in that uncomfortable position.

I sigh and tuck Naruto in. Even though I really don't have to. I shouldn't care this damn much. But leaving him without making sure he was comfortable seemed so wrong to do.

Once I'm done, I feel a huge weight lifted off my chest. I take a glance at the sleeping Naruto and make my leave. Stupid Naruto. Now I have double the distance to get home and it's already 12. I swear if some creepy ass guy hits on me, Naruto is gonna die.

But for a blonde drunk girl wobbling around, I did a fantastic job getting home. No creepy men, thankfully. Although I did trip a couple times and knock into things. Damn Naruto. Whatever, it's already over and all I want right now is my bed. And when I slip in, I feel like I'm in heaven. My eyelids shut and sleep starts to take over.

Naruto... If only he realized how stupid he is. But, I guess, I'm an idiot too.

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**A/N:** _This was difficult to write. I kept getting writers block. I hope it was decently okay and you guys are satisfied? Anyway, thanks for reading, it really means a lot! :) And keep reading too! I promise things will get interesting later on. ;)_

_Reviews are treated with cookies and candy. *_


	3. Reliance

My punishment for cutting off the roses stems were to have a whole days shift and spend most of my time cutting off the thorns of the roses, properly, this time. Otherwise my pay would be cut to half. Which is understandable but still completely not preferable. Especially when you do it for 4 hours and realize there's still another 4 to go.

I scowl as I continue disembodying the rose of it's precious thorns. I hear the jingle of the door and sigh. In a monotone voice I chant the same greeting I give everyday. "Welcome to the Yamanaka Flower Shop. Please, find a flower to your liking."

The costumer approaches the counter and leans on it. Annoyance swirls through me as I slam the rose down and look up at the costumer. All the angry words ready to spill out of my mouth seem to disappear as Naruto's grinning face stares at me. For the first time since he's been back, I hadn't been waiting for him. And he decides to show up.

"I'd like some roses, if I may." Naruto says, reaching for the one I'm currently working on. He slips it out of my hand and stares at it. "Still in the best condition in all of the town."

"Why? Did you think it's quality would have faltered?" I question with a raised brow. I pull the rose back and continue stripping off the thorns.

Naruto chuckles. He stares at the large piles of roses, on one side are the ones with thorns and the other side the ones I had de-thorned. "Of course not. Why are you stuck doing all of this? It looks tough."

"The other day I kind of zoned out and that happened." I point to the trash can that's filled with stemless roses. "I have to make up for it by spending the whole day cutting off the thorns." A sigh escapes my lips. "Man, my dad was supposed to do half of the portion, but now I'm stuck with all of it."

"Need a helping hand?" Naruto asks, stepping behind the counter. He reaches under the counter and pulls out a gardening knife. He raises it and wiggles his brows and dangles the knife around. "I'm a decent gardener if I do say so myself."

"Do I have a choice?" I ask, watching Naruto reach for a rose. He immediately drops it with a wince. I roll my eyes and reach under the counter and hand Naruto my fathers gardening gloves. "Some great gardener you are, forgetting that roses have thorns."

Naruto laughs his light-hearted laugh. I feel my chest ache. Awe, that laugh. I quickly recover from that momentary sign of weakness. I grab a rose for him and one for me. "Hurry up Naruto, I want to finish these as fast as possible."

"Why? We have all day." Naruto questions but does as he's told.

I just slump down a bit and feel like rolling my eyes but I do that too much and my father says it'll damage my eyesight. So instead I give Naruto my best displeased look. "What do you think? Would you prefer spending your day cutting thorns off roses? Or spending time with your friends?"

"Ah, but we seem to be doing both, Ino-chan." Naruto says with much amusement. I nearly blush but keep myself in control. I ignore him and start cutting thorns off. Stupid Naruto and his stupid words, making me act all stupid.

But he _is_ a good gardener. He cuts off the thorns with ease, almost as easily as me. That sounds like I'm praising myself, but hey, when your family owns a flower shop then you really know a very decent amount of tricks there are to gardening. I continue to think of these tricks, ignoring the sudden self-awareness I feel.

Every now and then our elbows brush. When it gets to be more than just a couple, Naruto laughs. I sigh and tell him to get back to work. I feel Naruto purposely nudge me with his elbow. "You know, we can make this faster by adding a few clones."

"I don't want to waste my chakra doing that jutsu, it takes a lot." I complain, not breaking concentration on my current rose. Naruto only scoffs with a bit of playful pride. I finally raise my eyes to ask why he's acting so high and mighty, when I see eleven Naruto's. I can feel my jaw slightly drop. I quickly lift my jaw back up. "Okay, but how are you going to cut them?"

"Using my nails, I guess." Naruto replies. His clones each take a rose.

I watch in amazement as each clone focuses chakra to their nails before slashing off the annoying pricks. I look at the original Naruto with the gardening gloves and knife. I scrunch my brows together. Is this really the Naruto that left us?

"Naruto..." I say, speechless at the sight of the ten whisker faced males with full concentration as they work their way through the roses. I stare at the original, who's only grinning proudly. "Okay, Naruto. I'll admit, this is pretty damn impressive. Is this how good you got after your three years training?"

Naruto laughs. "Actually, I can make about a thousand. But I'm pretty sure they wouldn't all fit in here."

"You've got to be kidding." I mutter a bit breathlessly. Wow. Those three years really did something to this boy. I can't put into words how much of a difference there is between the boy I didn't appreciate to the man standing in front of me now.

"So are you going to cut or just stand there looking at me like I grew another head?" Naruto asks.

I shake my head and continue on with my rose. Naruto was right, with the clones and himself, it was literally over ten times faster. I sneak a glance at the original standing next to me. "Sorry I was shocked like that... It's just a little weird to see you after three years and find out what your true powers are capable of."

"Well, it's understandable." Naruto says, his voice now hard and serious. "Anything to get Sasuke back."

I feel myself freeze. After a second I continue. I haven't thought of the Uchiha since a couple months ago when Sakura was telling me it was the raven haired boys birthday. Not that it matters to me at all. What was I supposed to do with that information? It's not like the guy was in the village, throwing himself a birthday party. I totally forgot about him after that.

Naruto also freezes. "I'll bring him back. You can count on me, Ino. I'll bring him back for you."

I choose to ignore the fact that he's talking about bringing back a man I couldn't care less about, and focus on the "for you" part. My slight happiness is crushed when I realize, of course he'd want to bring the Uchiha to me. That way Sakura would be free for him.

My grip on the rose tightens and I nearly cut off the stem of my rose but fight the urge. Naruto notices. "I'm sorry, Ino. I know it's hard for you to hear about him. It won't be soon, trust me."

Shut up. Shut up, shut up, shut up. Just stop. I want to say all of this. I don't want to hear about Sasuke. I don't want to talk about this. If this is all Naruto wants or has to speak to me abut then I would prefer him gone. He must get the hint. "I'll shut up now."

I nod my head in appreciation. We continue de-thorning the roses in silence. Except, this feels so wrong. Naruto thinks he's touched a sore spot by mentioning the traitor Uchiha. Why can't I bring myself to tell him that it's not the Uchiha that's upsetting me? It's the fact that Naruto still thinks I like Sasuke.

The jingle of the door catches my attention. Both Naruto (and his ten clones) and I look up to see Sakura standing at the doorway, looking slightly confused. "Oh, I didn't know you were here, Naruto. What are you two doing?"

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaims, all eleven of them at the same time. I'm fed up with the clones already. Naruto moves out from behind the counter. "I was just helping out Ino with her roses. What are you doing here?"

Sakura pushes past the Naruto's and approaches me. "I heard you have some stemless roses?"

I nearly laugh. "Yes. Why?"

"I need them for a certain medicine. Don't ask. I barely know what it's for either. It's just supposed to cure some rash on a very private area." Sakura winks. Not needing to hear anymore, I go retrieve the trash can filled with stemless roses and hand it over to the medic-nin. The pinkette smiles. "Thanks Ino."

Sakura turns and walks out without another word, leaving all the Naruto's to stare after her, and me staring at Naruto. When I finally get bored of watching Naruto's sad face, I return to the roses which were nearly completed. Naruto (the original) comes back behind the counter.

"Funny how she needs roses when you're not offering them." I say. I can't help it, I feel bitter.

Naruto scoffs. "Yeah... The pile looks decently low, would you mind if I go? I need to talk to Tsunade."

"About?" I ask, feeling like slapping myself. It's none of my business and I sound like a mother.

"Now that I'm back, I want to go on a mission! I have to set things up with her before I can go anywhere." Naruto says. His clones begin disappearing one by one. He begins slipping off his gardening gloves. "So would you mind?"

"Once again, do I really have a choice?" I ask with a raised brow. I watch as Naruto waves and exits the shop. For a minute I zone out, biting my lip and staring at the two roses left to de-thorn. How the hell does Naruto always get on my nerves but at the same time make me forgive him of any bad deed he's done?

—

8 hour shifts are the worst things in the world. I'm just glad it's finally over. Even though I finished the roses, thanks to Naruto, I still had another 3 hours of work. Mainly just sitting around thinking of nothing as costumers came and went. Now I'm finally locking up and heading home for a nice shower and dinner.

Not even five steps away from the shop and I'm already interrupted. "Ino!"

"What?!" I yell in an annoyed voice. I turn to find Sakura running to catch up to me. Her face looks very solemn. What's the matter now? "What is it, Sakura?"

"Naruto went to get a mission from Tsunade. She wants it to be a group mission of Naruto and I, but I don't think I can or want to go." Sakura explains, now standing in front of me. She looks down and kicks a rock. "Tomorrow is a really... Sad day. It was the day of the Uchiha massacre."

I clench my fists and turn around, taking steps away from my friend who's still hopelessly in love. I call out to her, "Sasuke is an idiot who doesn't deserve you, Sakura."

Sakura grips my wrist and spins me around. "Please go on the mission in my place! I don't want to be alone with Naruto. I just can't think of the team or Sasuke right now."

"Why me? Why not Hinata? I don't want to be alone with the idiot either." I say, pulling my arm out of Sakura's grasp. She doesn't realize her strength. I rub my wrist and wince. Had we been fighting, she could have broken it easily.

"Because I don't have anyone else to rely on. I would ask Hinata because I know she likes him, but she's on a mission with her team." Sakura sighs. "They won't be back for another week and Naruto wants to go tomorrow."

I laugh. "Seriously? You want me to just randomly show up instead of you? He's gonna be so disappointed!"

Sakura groans. "Man I really don't like him in that way, dammit."

I stop laughing. "Fine I'll go. But you better not shed a single damn tear for the asswipe who betrayed this village."

"I won't." Sakura says, but her voice doesn't sound all too convincing. She gives me a small smile and turns to leave. "Meet Naruto at the gate at nine tomorrow morning. He'll most likely be there on time. And tell him... I'm sorry."

I watch the pinkette walk away. I can't stand the bastard who caused her so much heartbreak. I mean't what I said when Sasuke didn't deserve her. No matter what I say or do she's always so depressed. She probably thinks I still like Sasuke too, that's why she won't open up to me... sigh.

Oh well. Tomorrow I'm off to a mission with Naruto. I can't decide whether this is good or bad.

—

"Dad..." I groan, my face in my hand. I can't believe the embarrassment I feel. Immediately after I told my parents of my solo mission with Naruto, he decides he needs to walk me over and have a 'talk' with the whisker-faced boy.

"What? This boy needs to know who he's going on a mission with." Father defends. He points to himself with his thumb. "And that's _my_ daughter."

I roll my eyes, hoping for the best as we approach the gates. I can see him waiting there, not a minute too late. I smile a little and run to the idiot. "Naruto!"

"Ino-chan?" Naruto questions, looking confused. He stares past me at my father, who's most likely sending him death glares. "Inoichi-san? What are you two doing here? Are you guys going on a mission as well?"

Poor kid. I sigh and in my head can hear my fellow team mate mutter troublesome. I agree, Shikamaru, I really agree.

"Listen here, Naruto." Father says, towering over the boy. "You behave yourself on this mission with my daughter. If I hear you even _thought_ of laying a finger on her, you... are... **dead**. Am I clear on that?"

"Dad." Oh, here's the embarrassment again.

Naruto turns to stare at me. "We're going on a mission together?"

I nod. "Yeah, Sakura said she had some... issues... to take care of today. Why? Is that a problem?"

For a split second I can see the slight disappointment, before it's washed away from the fear he must feel with my father towering over him. "No! It'll be fine! We'll have a lot of fun!"

"No you will not!" Father says matter-of-factly in a warning tone.

"Scratch that! No fun!" Naruto quickly says. "All business! ... Can we go now?"

Father backs off with a wide, genuine grin. "Welcome back Naruto!"

Naruto nearly faints from the change in attitude. I laugh and pull the whisker faced boy behind me. I wave to father. "Bye dad! See you in a couple days!"

And we're off on our first mission.

* * *

**A/N:** _Okay, this story is completely AU but bare with me, hehe. There's basically going to be three parts, and we're still in part 1. I hope you all continue to show interest and follow the story. And leave reviews if you wanna be nice ;)_


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